Just Another Manic Monday

We've made it halfway through this week! I'm back in the school teaching from my classroom so my schedule has been a bit off this week. I thought I'd pop in today and share my Monday in pictures! The title is a little misleading since, as you'll see, my day looks quite boring. The crazy school stuff isn't pictured haha. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

I start every morning with my Start Today Journal where I write out 5 things I am grateful for and 10 dreams I'm going to make happen. I try and do this before I even get out of bed in the morning to guarantee I do it.

I wanted to start my week off on a good note, so I pushed myself to go on my daily run before work knowing I'd be exhausted after work. Running in the dark takes some getting used to.

After packing up my bag and lunch, I started working on my Priority Planner to kill time before leaving for work.

I picked up a Wawa coffee on the way to work since teachers get free coffee until September 30th. I had been working from home the past week or so which meant I had to get my little area all set back up in my classroom.

I took some time when I got home from work to fix up my nails with my dip powder.

John and I were both way too exhausted after work to cook so we went and grabbed dinner from our favorite diner up the street. I got my favorite turkey chipotle panini with sweet potato waffle fries.

When we got home, I had to package up a Poshmark sale I had made that morning.

I finished off the long day with a stress relieving bubble bath. I read a bit of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas while I soaked.

Question of the Day: What is your favorite way to relax at night?

My Week in Pictures XXXIV

Hello and happy Monday! We had a slightly busy weekend so an extra day would've been appreciated. But here we are, on Monday morning so I suppose I have no choice but to start the week haha. I hope everyone has a great day! Keep reading to see what I was up to all week!


My Monday started off with another lovely drawing of me by a student.

I finally mailed a letter to my brother on Tuesday morning!

It was fire prevention week so the kids had a presentation by the local fire department.

That afternoon I stopped by my parent's to see Tommy and Joey. Tommy loves auntie snuggles!

That night John and I went to the gym as per usual. I've been doing a lot of my runs their lately.

That night I was surprised to see Jax in the cat tree and Dexter okay with it.

On Thursday I had wanted an iced coffee but decided against it. Then my coworker came in with a pumpkin iced latte for me anyway :)

I met up with my sister at the park to play with the boys. Both enjoyed it!

Saturday morning started out with our last long run of half marathon training. Tommy joined!

We headed off to Lancaster later that day for pumpkin picking with my friends from college.

We took advantage of being in the area and stopped by El Serrano for dinner. It was our favorite place to go while I was in school.

Jax had the right idea on Sunday morning. It was great to relax!

We spent the afternoon at Top Golf with John's family for his one cousin's 30th birthday. It was so fun!

Question of the Day: What is one thing you did that was fun this past week/weekend?

Friday Favorites

Hi everyone! I am welcoming Friday with open arms today! It has been another long week and the weekend is going to be much appreciated. We have a busy schedule this weekend which includes pumpkin picking with friends up in Lancaster Saturday and going to Top Golf with family on Sunday. Maybe I'll squeeze in some relaxation time somewhere in there ;) Before I check out for the weekend, here are some things I've been loving this week!

Scotch Thermal Laminator

As a teacher, I love laminating! A few years ago, John surprised me with my own mini laminator. The biggest size paper it can laminate is 8.5 x 11 which is perfect! I buy the Scotch brand laminating sheets for it because they are the perfect thickness when laminating regular paper. It is perfect for laminating anything my students will be manipulating because it holds up well. It's also nice to be able to laminate something quickly without waiting for the person who laminates at our school to get your materials back to you.

Quinoa with Taco Meat & Veggies

I've been in a lunch rut lately so when my mom gave me some veggies over the weekend, I knew I needed to come up with something creative. I decided to chop up the veggies {zucchini, squash, and mushrooms} and sautee them in garlic oil. While that cooked, I boiled some quinoa. This was going to be it until I saw leftover taco meat in the fridge. So then I ended up with a mix of quinoa, sauteed veggies, and taco meat. Surprisingly it was a delicious lunch all week! I recommend it!

Nivea In-Shower Body Lotion

I'm positive I've mentioned this before on here but oh well. It has been my life saver this week! In- shower body lotion is exactly as you would think: lotion you use in the shower! I put it on right after I wash my body, but before I get out. It goes on just like lotion and then you rinse it before you get out. I love it because it keeps my skin moisturized now that it's getting a bit chilly out!

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

My Week in Pictures XXXIII

Happy Monday! It's been awhile since I shared a week in pictures so here I am, getting back to my regular routine. I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a good week ahead of them!

I started my week off by making more pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal cups. I switched up the recipe a bit and added pumpkin pie spice for a more pumpkin flavor.

Tuesday was a long day but I still managed to squeeze in my run just as the sun was setting.

Later on, John and I both agreed it was already a long week and went for ice cream sundaes!

On Wednesday Jax started to get more comfortable with us and let me take pictures!

I spent a lot of time this week admiring my wedding band. Those details are just to die for!

I felt guilty leaving for work Thursday morning because Jax watched me from the window upstairs.

A student drew a very accurate drawing of me during writing time... haha.

Our parents came over Thursday night to look at our wedding pictures and the boys behaved super well for them.

I used a new platter to display the taco fixings.

After a long week, Friday called for a pumpkin spice iced coffee on the way to work!

I was impressed by a student's goose drawing during writing.

I got up super early on Saturday to run 12 miles with my sister. My friend Erika had been over the night before and we stayed up late so I had been tired. Afterwards, I drank hot chocolate in bed and watched This Is Us.

After a nap, I woke up and made grilled cheese for lunch. John was away all weekend so I just did my own thing.

Saturday night I went with my family to a BBQ at our friends house and then we walked to a fall parade from there. I had so much fun with my nephews :) It felt like fall!

Later that night we went back to the party and made s'mores and hung out with everyone.

I got up early on Sunday to lunch prep for the week.

Tommy convinced me to come over for the afternoon.

My sister and I made cookies with him!

 
And then we ended our visit with snuggles before we had to head out to our Financial Peace University class.

Question of the Day: Did you do anything fall related this weekend?

My Week in Pictures XXXI

Happy Monday all! I'm whipping this post up fast this morning since I was out late last night and am quite sleepy this morning. My posts have been all out of whack later so I am trying to get back into my usual routine. To do so, I am sharing my week in pictures with you today :)

Last weekend was quite the whirlwind, so a day off on Monday was much needed! We spent a majority of the day on the couch before we went to a party at John's cousin's house.

I spent most of Tuesday in my classroom, preparing for the first day on Wednesday. That night we made ourselves a delicious dinner of shrimp, scallops, and rice.

Wednesday was my first day in first grade! I can tell it is going to be a good year :)

Thursday night was another lazy night. Dexter has been happy that we've been home a lot lately!

After work on Friday, I went to my local running store {it is super close to my work} to pick up so new Gu for half marathon training. I also decided to treat myself to a chai tea latte. It felt so much like fall outside!

That night we went for all-you-can-eat sushi and bowling with our friends Heather and Jason! Jason shares the same birthday as John so it was a belated birthday celebration.

I got up bright and early on Saturday for a 9 mile run with Ashley!

That afternoon, John and I took the flowers we preserved from the wedding out of the silica gel. I am so impressed! I'll give more details on that later!

We had another quiet night in so we decided to whip up my mom's meatloaf recipe. So yummy!

On Sunday we had our typical pancake breakfast. I added pumpkin spice in mine!

Next up, we ran some errands. We found ourselves in BJ's at one point and really stocked up on some yogurt!

That night we met up with some friends in Philly to see a show that my friend, Erika, was in. It was such a fun night!

Question of the Day: Did you do anything exciting this weekend? What do you like to do when you have a free day?